On last week’s Radio Survivor show, my colleague Eric Klein did a fascinating interview with Eric Nuzum about the podcasting landscape. In the wide-ranging conversation, Nuzum talks about his college radio past at Kent State University in the mid-to-late 1980s.
I love a college radio origin story, so it was fun to hear about his time at WKSR (which has subsequently morphed into an online station). He recounted the freedom they had at the station and some of the “dumb, goofy” stuff that he did, adding, “I was allowed to just play around,” explaining that it really helped him to learn about audio equipment and radio. Through that, he said, “I was building a pretty amazing arsenal of production technique.” That experimentation quickly led to work for Nuzum as an intern at the public radio station WKSU on campus, babysitting tapes late at night. Years later he became the Programming Director there at age 29, forging a path for later jobs at NPR and beyond.
Saving Black College Radio History
This week’s Radio Survivor podcast was equally inspiring for college radio fans. Radio producer and archivist Jocelyn Robinson spoke with us about her HBCU Radio Station Archival Survey Project. As she travels around the country visiting college radio stations at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Robinson is developing an understanding of the archival landscape. Most importantly, she’s learning a lot about the inherent challenges of college radio and is helping to forge connections between stations and archivists in order to preserve radio history.
More College Radio News
Events
- KVSC’s Trivia Weekend is Almost Here (KNSI)
- Historic World Radio Day Event in Italy (College Radio Foundation)
- Auburn Feud Episode 1: Watch the Circle and WEGL 91.1 FM Compete (Eagle Eye TV)
Profiles of Stations and Programming
- Student Radio Advocates for More Usage (Webster Journal)
- NewsmarketToday Partners with 102.7 CHOP FM for Weekly Headlines Show (NewsmarketToday)
- Sports Podcasts at University of Chicago (Robert Feder)
Student Radio Organizations
- Student Radio Network Approaches Forty (Scoop News)
College Radio History
- Podcast #232: Documenting and Preserving College Radio at HBCUs (Radio Survivor)
- Chris Wallace Recalls College Radio Past (The Media Times)
- Student’s KSLU Documentary Featured in Regional Media (St. Lawrence University)
- KSLU President Creates Documentary about SLU’s Student Radio Station (St. Lawrence County NNY360)
- KSLU Documentary: Charles Sirotek’s Most Excellent Analysis of Radio (YouTube)
College Radio Alumni
- Asian Beat: Yaeji (The Daily Campus)
- The Center Session: An Exclusive Evening with KLOS 95.5 Host Christian James Hand (Broadway World)
- Radio, Music Trailblazer David B. Treadway Dies at 69 (Arkansas Business News)
- Radio Host Miguel Fuller Proclaims ‘Let me be Me’ (SCAD District)
Influence of College Radio & Music Culture
- ‘DJ Dad’ Skratch Bastid to Spin for Family Day (Stratford Beacon Herald)
- How Raleigh, North Carolina Became a Hotbed of Independent Music (Rolling Stone)
- Plan to Ditch RNZ Concert for a ‘Youth’ Station is a Bad Idea (Stuff NZ)
- RNZ Concert Not out of the Woods Yet – Better Public Media Trust (The Daily Blog)
- You Forget How Much this Country Genuinely Hates Young People until the Entitlement of Something Like Concert FM Gets Challenged (The Daily Blog)
Awards and Accolades
- WUSB Awarded Grant as Part of College Radio Day (SBU News)
- Millikin University’s Student Radio Station Nominated for 8 National Awards (Herald-Review)
